“Manichaeus was created without Scaphism as an intro in mind. It started when Wychdoktor made a heavy and attention-demanding drum and synth track -everything fell into place in rapid succession afterwards. Within an evening, Asa had come up with a dragging, low-fi guitar crunch, launching the song and listener into a noisy abyss. Vocally, I was very inspired at the time by Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan - most particularly the parts that were heavily vocal fried. During the writing process of Manichaeus, my focus was largely on finding the right cadence that would make the vocals stab out amongst an already chaotic sound.
Manichaeus was the last track on Ophus that we wrote lyrics for. I recall being extremely reflective of my time writing for the album - sitting in a giant atrium with a small garden in the centre at the National Gallery. I pondered within the echoing hall filled with choir music from a nearby exhibit for two or three hours until I was content with a rough draft. Afterwards, I left the gallery and went for a stroll to the Rideau Canal locks and watched the sunset. It was a place where I often meditated while shooting photos of reflecting water - some of which can be found in the album artwork.” -Eric Davindra
